Belarus continues to scramble in search of alternate oil sources two months after its traditional Russian suppliers halted flows through the Druzhba Pipeline (see EDM, January 22, February 13). The five suppliers that have provided Belarus with 90 percent of its oil for years cut... MORE

Following the forcible Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, the value of boosting Belarus’s sovereignty began to outweigh the value of democracy promotion as the sole and unwavering basis of the West’s policies toward this East European country since 1995. This overturn in value preferences,... MORE

On February 17, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) disrupted the activity of a network of “bot farms”—an extensive, organized effort to create “fake” (automated) social media accounts, which was found to be active across multiple regions of Ukraine. According to the SSU, the technical... MORE

In Russian-occupied Crimea, people are praying with Christian Orthodox priests for rain and snow because the last six months passed by with virtually no precipitation. Because of the dry winter, local reservoirs are now almost empty. Journalists forecast apocalyptic drought scenarios for the peninsula. And... MORE

On February 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Italy for a two-day official visit, the first since his election last April. Zelenskyy met the president of Italy, Sergio Mattarella, and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte; he additionally visited the Vatican (Agenzia Nova, February 7). Several... MORE

In the positional war in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donbas, where enemy trenches are often only a hundred meters away from each other, snipers have a target-rich environment and play a critical tactical role. As elsewhere, snipers in the Donbas war proved to be an... MORE

The Belarusian economy has begun to sustain losses due to the disruption of Russian oil supplies. Whereas the country’s gross domestic product grew 1.2 percent in 2019 (annual growth), in January 2020, it was 1.9 percent lower than in January 2019. The government had predicted... MORE

The recent appointment of Andriy Yermak to head the Ukrainian Presidential Office (see EDM, February 21) could increase tensions between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky; while the long-serving minister of interior, Arsen Avakov is likely to ingratiate himself to both sides simultaneously. The... MORE

On February 11, Andriy Bohdan—known as the “shadow cardinal” of Ukrainian politics and a former lawyer of oligarch Ihor Kolomoysky (see EDM, October 9, 2019)—left his post as the chief of the presidential administration. He was replaced by Andriy Yermak, heretofore a presidential advisor informally... MORE

Oppressive silence followed the February 7 Russian-Belarusian summit in Sochi, Russia. President Alyaksandr Lukashenka left that North Caucasus resort city without making any public statement. However, it was clear that silence would not last long given the emotional and charismatic personality of the Belarusian leader.... MORE